THE PICKS
R&M UK Equity Long Term Recovery
Hugh Sergeant’s strategy is frequently deemed to be a pure value fund, but the manager’s patience and skill are on show during the good times. Despite struggling between 2014 and 2016, periods before and after more than make up. Currently, the bulk of the fund is weighted towards banks, miners and oil stocks, but with 219 holdings, returns are diversified. Mr Sergeant is first-quartile over one, three and five years, returning 134 per cent since September 2012, versus a 66 per cent UK All Companies sector average.
SDL UK Buffettology
Keith Ashworth-Lord has many fans among the fund-buying community, with his performance of late justifying his idiosyncratic investment picks. The fund has 29 holdings, with large positions taken in small- to medium-sized companies and held for the long term, with outperformance to be judged on a five to 10-year basis. The £180m strategy has not disappointed, returning 140 per cent in the past five years and 69 per cent over three, far above sector averages of 66 and 28 per cent respectively. The FTSE All-Share index has gained 56 and 26 per cent over the equivalent periods.
EDITOR’S PICK
Old Mutual UK Dynamic Equity
Luke Kerr’s performance on this mid-cap strategy has recently led to his fund being soft closed. The £579m fund has holdings in typical FTSE 250 stocks such as BooHoo, PaySafe and Fever-Tree, but unlike peers runs a significantly more concentrated portfolio, with just 49 holdings. While running greater stock-specific and liquidity risk, the manager has avoided major drawdowns. Performance across all time periods is far above its FTSE 250 benchmark and peers. In the past year, Mr Kerr has returned more than double that of the sector average, and almost triple it over five years.
